Cell Therapy

ARTICLES ABOUT CELL THERAPY BY DATE - PAGE 2

LONDON: Imagine needing an urgent liver transplant, but instead of waiting for a donor, you can just repair your own organ. Yes, scientists have discovered a new way of treating liver failure -- the technique involves inserting stem cells into the damaged organ so that it is encouraged to repair itself and create new tissue, The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday. "We have identified a non-hepatic source of cells that can easily be expanded to the scale required for clinical application," Dr Martin Yarmush, who led the study published in the Public Library of Science journal, was quoted by the daily as saying.

CHENNAI: India has the potential to become the superstar of stem cells in five years, given its innovation capabilities. US-based McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine cardiac stem cell therapy director Dr Amit N Patel said the approach to stem cell treatment has to be systematic. "There is no quackery involved. Since there are so many small clinics, having a systematic approach is essential," he added. Instead of having little clinics built around patients, Chennai has the most advanced infrastructure to support stem cell research as LifeCell has the ability to produce pharmaceuticals using cells.

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad-based Global Hospitals, a multi-specialty hospital focused on organ transplantation, is setting up stem cell research and tissue culture centres at an investment of Rs 10 crore. This is in line with the hospital's plan to use stem cell therapy for the transplantation of damaged and diseased body parts. The hospital has forged ties with the Indian Institute of Nutrition and the Institute of Biomedical Research, Japan, for conducting stem cell studies.

MUMBAI: Histostem, a US-based company specialising in chord blood stem cell banking and stem cell therapy, and Apollo Hospitals will be entering into an agreement to offer stem cell therapy in India. In an e-mail interview with ET, Histostem's president and CEO said Histostem intends to have a formal agreement with Apollo Hospitals by end of September. Stem cell therapy is a brand new branch of medical science that uses cells collected from sources like the umbilical cord to treat several conditions involving damaged body tissues.